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LindaSueBakk

Will it hurt my overall progress if I break my one hour daily workout into 15 or 20 minute segments? I know I read somewhere (not on MFP) that you only burn fat after 20 minutes. Calories burned would stay the same or at least close. I'm getting a little bored with hour workouts, but want to continue my progress. Opinions???

backinthenines

Yes. Four 15min workouts isn't at all the same as one 60min workout, in terms of calories burned or fitness gained.

Teresa652

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jkestens63

I don't think it matters. If you burn 100 calories 4 x a day that's 400 calories. If you burn 400 calories 1 x a day its 400 calories. I know a lot of people want to "science it up" and talk about burn and all this other stuff but I think the concept is simple. Calories in vs. calories out. Burn more calories than you eat. When I started I was 430 lbs, I couldn't exercise an hour at a time, I did 10 min walks 3 times a day. I lost weight fine.

There are so many "rules" - like you can't eat after 7:00 pm. I ALWAYS eat dinner at 9:00 pm AND I have a bedtime snack at 11:15 pm (fruit & a glass of skim milk). I'm 254 lbs lighter, obviously it didn't hurt. I'm a night time snacker so eating late like that controlled the binging and the grazing. You have to do what works for you. If exercising in small blocks is what you can handle, then do it. Its so much better than not exercising at all.

myofibril

Will it hurt my overall progress if I break my one hour daily workout into 15 or 20 minute segments? I know I read somewhere (not on MFP) that you only burn fat after 20 minutes. Calories burned would stay the same or at least close. I'm getting a little bored with hour workouts, but want to continue my progress. Opinions???

If fat loss is your goal rather than cardio endurance then this is actually a very good idea. The notion of the long "fat burning after 20 mins" cardio session has shown to be less efficient than shorter, segmented sessions according to a Japanese study.

Check out the following link for further info:

http://www.musclemagfitness.com/cancer/cancer/exercise-rest-repeat-how-a-break-can-help-your-workout.html

rhodes2b

You burn more overall and boost the metabolism when you keep your heart rate up for longer than 30 minutes. You should switch it up in the gym though. Start and end with cardio than hit some weights in between.

hollyyoung71

I was having the same problem with boredom so I asked my trainer.. she said that I should do 20 minute increments on differnent machines and immediately go to the next one so that my heart rate doesn't slow down to much.. that way you are still burning. I think if you let your heart rate rest after the 20, then its like starting all over. I know that you really want your heart rate to go to your goal for at least 20 minutes.

keta6atl

Hi LindaSue.....there are soooo many multiple ways to break up your training. Look into researching HIIT vs LISS. It sounds like what you are doing is LISS (low intensity steady state)....which does work.....but can be boring and tedious.....but if you combine your workout with some HIIT (high intensity interval training) this might break up the boredom. There are numerous studies on both. An example would be doing your 1 hour long LISS workout 3 times a week with interval training 2 times per week....or....just doing interval training 3 times per week period. HIIT workouts usually last no longer than 20-30 min but are very intense. Regardless...good luck!

myofibril

I am really suprised that the concept of long "fat burning" cardio sessions where fat loss kicks in after 20 minutes is still being pushed, especially by fitness professionals.

As someone previously said what is important is total work output over the amount of time you engage in exercise and the calories burned. It is less likely that you can work with the same intensity over one long hour bout than you could with say two shorter sessions of 30 mins each with a break in the middle. As a result you will probably burn more calories with the two shorter sessions making it preferable.

You would think that most trainers are rocking leg warmers and listening to Frankie Goes to Hollywood given the seem firmly stuck in the 80s...

backinthenines

Will it hurt my overall progress if I break my one hour daily workout into 15 or 20 minute segments? I know I read somewhere (not on MFP) that you only burn fat after 20 minutes. Calories burned would stay the same or at least close. I'm getting a little bored with hour workouts, but want to continue my progress. Opinions???

If fat loss is your goal rather than cardio endurance then this is actually a very good idea. The notion of the long "fat burning after 20 mins" cardio session has shown to be less efficient than shorter, segmented sessions according to a Japanese study.

Check out the following link for further info:

http://www.musclemagfitness.com/cancer/cancer/exercise-rest-repeat-how-a-break-can-help-your-workout.html

Exercise - Rest - Repeat -- that's all well and good when the rest is a few minutes not a few hours??

4x15mins runs will not burn the same calories as a sustained 60min run, simple as. Any Garmin will tell you that. The only way to achieve in 4x15mins the same burn you'd get during an hour run is if you upped your effort level majorly and did flat out intervals!

myofibril

Exercise - Rest - Repeat -- that's all well and good when the rest is a few minutes not a few hours??

4x15mins runs will not burn the same calories as a sustained 60min run, simple as. Any Garmin will tell you that. The only way to achieve in 4x15mins the same burn you'd get during an hour run is if you upped your effort level majorly and did flat out intervals!

I actually don't think the rest time really matters a huge amount with two 30 minutes cardio workouts. I think if you did one in the morning and one in the evening with a moderately increased intensity you could burn as many calories if not more than a single session as well as engaging more lipolysis if that study is to be believed. In reality the actual fat burned in either one steady state session of 60 mins or two sessions of 30 mins each would be miniscule. It was the whole concept of the long steady state cardio session where fat burning kicks at 20 mins that I was targetting.

I should have been clearer though about 4 sessions at 15 mins per session though. I wasn't recommending that and as you say she would have to ramp up the intensity greatly to get the same amount of calories burned as one long session given the difficulty in getting heart rate elevated and at a consistent level.